A variety of brewing apparatus have been developed to combine heated water with a brewing substance such as ground coffee or tea material in order to infuse the material and produce a brewed beverage. There are many ways to combine the water with the brewing substance. One way is to place the substance in a filter device such as a disposable filter paper and place the filter paper and brewing substance in a brewing funnel or basket. Water is mixed with the brewing substance in the filter thereby allowing the brewed substance to filter through the paper leaving the saturated brewing substance in the filter paper. The saturated substance and used filter paper can be thrown away.
Another way of brewing beverage is to encapsulate the brewing substance in a filter material. The brewing substance in the filter material provides a convenient package for handling a predetermined quantity of brewing substance. The filter material provides a package or container for the brewing substance. This package allows the brewing substance to be handled prior to brewing and after brewing without complication or mess.
Such brewing substances pre-packaged in filter material are referred to as “pods” or “sachets.” Pods can be compressed during packaging in the filter material or left in a generally loose condition. Pods generally have a circular shape with a generally flattened configuration often appearing as a disc or puck. Pods generally range in a size from approximately 45-60 mm and contain approximately 9-10 grams of brewing substance. A typical pod may produce approximately 8 ounces of brewed beverage.